1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a photographing device, for example a digital camera, that can detect a specific object, for example a human face, in a photographing area.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, it is known that a face-recognizing device can automatically detect a human face in a photographing area, as shown in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (KOKAI) NO.8-63597. Due to this device, by using the information of the detected face area it is easy to focus on the human face and adjust an exposure of the human face to the proper value, which makes the human face reproduce clearly and naturally on the photographing image in the digital camera.
Usually, the detection process for detecting a human face is conducted in the stand-by mode where the through image displays on the monitor, and the detected face area is bordered by a frame on the through image so as to designate the face area. Because the person object sometimes moves, the detection process is usually repeated for detecting the moving face area correctly, and then the frame usually moves to follow the moving human face.
However, due to the size or the orientation of the human face, the human face is not always detected in the detection process, even when the human face actually appears on the photographing area. Therefore, the face area is intermittently detected and not detected. When the face area is not detected, the frame does not display on the monitor; causing the frame to fluctuate with and without a display on the monitor. This fluctuating display makes a user feel uncomfortable and confused about the shutter release timing.
Furthermore, if the shutter is released at the moment that the human area is not detected, the focus- and exposure-adjustment is conducted without the information of the position of the face area. Therefore, the human face is sometimes reproduced unclearly or unnaturally on the photographing image, even in portrait mode.